HR1172 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1172 LRB096 22118 KXB 40731 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize and honor the upcoming 80th anniversary of the founding of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated; and

WHEREAS, The National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated (NPHC) is currently composed of nine International Greek letter Sororities and Fraternities: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.; NPHC promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other mediums for the exchange of information and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions; and

WHEREAS, On May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, in Washington D.C., the National Pan-Hellenic Council was formed as a permanent organization with the following charter members: Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternities and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, and Zeta Phi Beta Sororities; in 1931, Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternities joined the Council; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority joined in 1937 and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity completed the list of member organizations in 1997; and

WHEREAS, Early in 1937, the organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois and became known as "The National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated"; since its founding on December 4, 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of color around the world; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans, was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants in this country; the visionary founders, known as the "Jewels" of the Fraternity, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy; and

WHEREAS, The Fraternity initially served as a study and support group for minority students who faced racial prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell; the Jewel founders and early leaders of the Fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the uplifting of humanity; and

WHEREAS, Founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American college-trained women; to trace its history is to tell a story of changing patterns of human relations in America in the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, After the organization's establishment over a century ago, Alpha Kappa Alpha has helped to improve social and economic conditions through community service programs; members have improved education through independent initiatives, contributed to community-building by creating programs and associations, such as the Mississippi Health Clinic, and influenced federal legislation by Congressional lobbying through the National Non-Partisan Lobby on Civil and Democratic Rights; the sorority works with communities through service initiatives and progressive programs relating to education, family, health, and business; and

WHEREAS, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African-American membership; since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University in Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed, or national origin; the fraternity has over 150,000 members with 700 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every state of the United States, and international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Japan, the Caribbean, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Nigeria, and South Africa; and

WHEREAS, Kappa Alpha Psi sponsors programs providing community service, social welfare, and academic scholarship through the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation and is a supporter of the United Negro College Fund and Habitat for Humanity; and

WHEREAS, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college; Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.; the founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper, and Frank Coleman, and their faculty adviser was Dr. Ernest Everett Just; and

WHEREAS, The fraternity has worked to build a strong and effective force of men dedicated to its Cardinal Principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift; since 1945, the fraternity has undertaken a National Social Action Program to meet the needs of African-Americans in the areas of health, housing, civil rights, and education; Omega Psi Phi has been a patron of the United Negro College Fund since 1955, providing an annual gift of $50,000 to the program; and

WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded in 1913 by 22 students at Howard University; these young women wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence, to provide scholarships, to provide support to the underserved, educate and stimulate participation in the establishment of positive public policy, and to highlight issues and provide solutions for problems in their communities; and

WHEREAS, The major programs of the sorority are based upon the organization's Five Point Programmatic Thrust: Economic Development, Educational Development, International Awareness and Involvement, Physical and Mental Health, and Political Awareness and Involvement; and

WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students; the founders, Honorable A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse, and Honorable Charles I. Brown, wanted to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service; and

WHEREAS, From its inception, Phi Beta Sigma was conceived by its founders as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community, rather than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves or their immediate families; this deep conviction is mirrored in the fraternity's motto, "Culture for Service and Service for Humanity"; and

WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority was founded on the simple belief that sorority elitism and socializing should not overshadow the real mission for progressive organizations, to address societal mores, ills, prejudices, poverty, and health concerns of the day; and

WHEREAS, Founded January 16, 1920, Zeta began as an idea conceived by five co-eds at Howard University in Washington D.C.: Arizona Cleaver, Myrtle Tyler, Viola Tyler, Fannie Pettie, and Pearl Neal; these five women, also known as the Five Pearls, dared to depart from the traditional coalitions for black women and sought to establish a new organization predicated on the precepts of Scholarship, Service, Sisterly Love, and Finer Womanhood; it was the ideal of the Founders that the Sorority would reach college women in all parts of the country who were sorority minded and desired to follow the founding principles of the organization; and

WHEREAS, Since its inception, the Sorority has chronicled a number of firsts; Zeta Phi Beta was the first Greek-letter organization to charter a chapter in Africa (1948), to form adult and youth auxiliary groups, to centralize its operations in a national headquarters, and to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated; and

WHEREAS, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, by seven young educators: Mary Lou Allison Little, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Dulin Redford, Bessie M. Downey Martin, and Cubena McClure; the group became an incorporated national collegiate sorority on December 30, 1929, when a charter was granted to Alpha chapter at Butler University; and

WHEREAS, Founded in the midst of segregation, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority is the only sorority of the four historically African-American sororities which comprise the NPHC, to be established at a predominantly white campus; Sigma Gamma Rho also supports two affiliates: the RHOERS, a group of young women, and PHILOS, women who are friends of the sorority; Soaring To Greater Heights of Attainment Around The World, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., as a leading national service organization, has met the challenges of the day and continues to grow through Sisterhood, Scholarship, and Service; and

WHEREAS, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., was founded on September 19, 1963 at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland; the fraternity was founded by twelve men in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement even though there were already four other prominent historically black fraternities at the time; and

WHEREAS, Since its founding date, Iota Phi Theta has continued to grow and has become the fifth-largest predominantly black fraternal organization in the United States; as of now, there are over 35,000 members in the United States and overseas; a key appeal of Iota Phi Theta is, as an organization, it refuses to have its members bind themselves to a defined fraternal image but celebrates the individuality of its members; more importantly, its members continue to build upon the fraternity's commitment to success and excellence with individual and collective achievements in such fields as politics, education, law, business, medicine, and the performing arts; and

WHEREAS, The National Pan-Hellenic Council has distinguished members in the General Assembly, Senator Donne E. Trotter, Representatives Marlow Colvin and Al Riley (Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.); Senators Mattie Hunter and Toi W. Hutchinson, Representatives Annazette Collins, Monique D. Davis, and Constance A. Howard (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.); Senator James F. Clayborne Jr., and Representatives William D. Burns, William Davis, and Eddie Lee Jackson, Sr. (Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.); Representative David E. Miller (Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.); Senator Kimberly A. Lightford and Representative Camille Lilly (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.); and Representatives Kenneth Dunkin and LaShawn K. Ford (Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.); therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize and honor the 80th anniversary of the founding of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated and wish all the members of the organization the best at this time; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the National President of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Incorporated, as a symbol of our respect and esteem.